Radio Lollipop would like to encourage all volunteers and supporters to vote for us as your favourite charity in The Big Charity Box.

Each vote earns Radio Lollipop much-needed funds at no cost to you.

There are three easy steps to voting…

1) Register your E-mail address with The Big Charity Box http://www.bigcharitybox.com/vote.php

2) Check your E-mail – you will be sent a website address to visit where you can cast your vote.

3) Type our charity number into the box on the right hand side (280817).

That’s it!

Every vote we receive can raise us as much as 50p.

Radio Lollipop’s top young presenter Chris Felton is enjoying some time in the spotlight with Metro Radio’s highly-rated event for young clubbers, SWEET.

The monthly event starring Metro DJ Wayne takes place around in and around Newcastle and Fish has become a regular feature, even taking to the decks himself.

Fish said of the event

“I’m really enjoying taking part in Sweet. It’s a dream come true to be involved in such a massive event on a monthly basis. Everyone at Metro has been very supportive and it’s helping me to build up my confidence when broadcasting on Lollipop too.”

Fish’s co-presenter on Radio Lollipop Newcastle, Helen Hudspith, said

“He’s a star! Fish works very hard for Radio Lollipop and has a boundless enthusiasm that means his shows are very popular with the kids on the cancer ward. It’s takes a special kind of person to be willing to give up their time to cheer up sick kids. They love to phone down and chat with Fish because they know he’s friendly and fun to talk to.

We’re very pleased that he is succeeding with his ambitions outside of Lollipop too. He’s the kind of person who will go a long way because he’s willing to work hard for his own success and doesn’t just sit back and expect it to fall in his lap”.

Metro Radio’s charity “Just for Kids” is one of Radio Lollipop’s biggest supporters and Radio Lollipop continues to form strong links with the station and the staff at Metro and Magic 1152.

If you think you have what it takes to be a Lollipop presenter and want to learn the tricks of the trade, get in touch with your local Lollipop. There are many opportunities for broadcasting at Radio Lollipop and beyond.

(Please note: at Radio Lollipop Newcastle it is expected that you will spend six months volunteering on the wards before you are able to broadcast live to the children. This for your benefit because we are in the unique position that we get to know our audience personally and find out about their likes and dislikes before we broadcast to them).

You may have seen the recent article in the Evening Chronicle newspaper asking for financial help for Lollipop Newcastle. In an inspired fundraiser, a North East accountant recently got things off his chest – after volunteering to have it waxed for Radio Lollipop.

Paul Gainford who works with RMT Accountants & Business Advisors in Newcastle agreed to take in the follicle torture to raise £200 for the Radio Lollipop at the RVI in Newcastle – that’s an estimated 5p per hair.

The 27-year-old from Crawcrook, Tyne and Wear, was prompted to take up the challenge after hearing about a colleague’s granddaughter. Courtney Atkinson age 11 who has spent the past four years in and out of hospital following a kidney transplant.

Having supported events such as the Sunshine Run and Jeans for Genes Day, RMT Accountants was keen to help a local charity that cares for the North East’s sick children.

The waxing took place at the Locker Room – a new grooming emporium particularly popular with men. Based in Newcastle, it offers a wide range of treatments from traditional barbering services to manicures, pedicures, tanning and various massage and relaxation therapies.

Said Paul: “It was our marketing co-ordinator, Rachael Sellers that came up with the idea after reading about the Locker Room in the paper. We felt that it was a little different to the traditional fund raising events, including sponsored walks and runs.

“Although it was a little painful I was pleased to take part, helping to improve the lives of youngsters like Courtney that spend a lot of time in the RVI.”

Chairman at RVI Radio Lollipop, Sheila Brown added: “It is thanks to the support and donation from organisations like this that we can bring some fun into the hospital routine for young patients. Small fundriasers make a massive difference to the survival of our organisation. Many thanks to Paul and RMT for their support”.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN DONATING TO RADIO LOLLIPOP NEWCASTLE, please get in touch at newcastle@radiolollipop.org

By day, she’s a mild-mannered Pharmacy Department coordinator at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, but every Tuesday night Debbie Prout undergoes a metamorphosis. She becomes “Dingie Debbie,” one of the volunteer on-air personalities and craft maker at Radio Lollipop, the radio station for kids at Texas Children’s Hospital.
The in-house radio station is operated solely by young patients and volunteers each Terrific Tuesday and Thrilling Thursday evening. Volunteers are being recruited this spring to put Wacky Wednesday on the air, too. It’s an animated evening when Radio Lollipop is on the air, so lively that some young patients want to be hospitalized on those days.
Why would anyone choose to be in the Hospital? “At Radio Lollipop, they can join the party in the radio studio and adjoining activity room, or they can call in from their patient rooms to request songs, answer quizzes, tell jokes or ‘shout out’ to a friend or a favorite nurse,” Dingie Debbie explains. It’s a high-energy, laugh-a-minute party geared to entertaining children, taking their mind off illness for a while.
Debbie recalls a youngster who loved the tune, “Woody’s Round Up” from the movie “Toy Story.” A frequent patient, he came bounding into the studio one evening, then into the adjacent activity room to make a craft project. Debbie remembered his favorite tune and put it on the air. Young Daniel dashed back into the studio, hopped up on the tall chair facing the DJ and began to sing along … out of tune and at the top of his voice.
Only later did Debbie learn from the boy’s mother that he was just being admitted that evening and that he begged his mother to drop him at the door so he could make it to Radio Lollipop while she took care of the admission procedure. He was that eager to play on the radio.
That’s the sort of incident that has brought Debbie back to Texas Children’s, week in and week out, for more than six years. Debbie is one of the original Radio Lollipop volunteers at Texas Children’s, and she has enjoyed each week’s activities since before the little radio station went “on the air” in 1999. “It’s a great program,” she says. “I love interacting with the kids, especially when we are able to get a child to smile for the first time all day.”
She enjoys the little ones telling jokes, especially “Knock, Knock” jokes. “Sometimes they don’t know that they have to wait for a response to ‘knock, knock,’ and they run through the whole joke at once,” she laughs. “Being silly is an asset for Radio Lollipop volunteers,” Debbie says.
Not all of Debbie’s 1,300-plus volunteer hours have been spent being silly on the radio. She also stepped forward to take on the role of Radio Lollipop Chairman, leading the self-managed volunteer cadre that plans themes for each week and crafts for each evening. Thinking up a weekly theme and two crafts weekly suitable for patients of all ages could be a challenge, but it’s one that Debbie relishes, even calling on her mother for new ideas.
She served on the board of The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital for several years, acting as Advisor to the Junior Council, the teen volunteer leadership group that plans activities for patients. “Interacting with teens is great,” she says. “I enjoy watching them mature as they fulfill their commitments, and it’s terrific to hand the volunteer baton to another generation.”
On the flip side of Debbie’s “dingie” personality, she also has volunteered for four years as a Child Advocate, acting as the voice of a child embroiled in a custody situation. “I give the child a voice,” Debbie says. “I am a neutral party who can speak to the judge in the child’s best interest.” Partly as a result of her involvement, the children assigned to Debbie are now in loving homes.
An employee of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital for 19 years, Debbie is the office coordinator in the Pharmacy Department, where she handles schedules, employee records and other administrative detail. Each Tuesday, she happily postpones a 45-minute commute home to don her volunteer uniform of jeans, Radio Lollipop polo shirt and white sneakers. Then, it’s off to the 16th floor and the little radio station that means so much to young patients, their siblings and parents.